


An Unexpected Turn of Events

by AberrantAtHeart



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: FrostIron Tony/Loki, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-30
Updated: 2012-05-30
Packaged: 2017-11-06 08:35:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/416860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AberrantAtHeart/pseuds/AberrantAtHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In these times, when Tony is so vulnerable, Loki is most amiable, slipping back under the covers, cupping the bright blue light and easing Tony’s damage-inflicting hand away from causing further harm. It isn’t the sappy type of comfort like in romantic films and books, its just a whisper of a reassurance. Then everything was stolen from them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unexpected Turn of Events

The papers called Tony Stark heartless.

 

They spoke of countless, shameless endeavors he partook in with both the male and female population. They used words to paint pictures of the cruel ‘Merchant of Death,’ who was once renowned for his ability to take lives, turned hero and yet somehow still managed to remain  uncaring to the emotions of people around him. They even went so far as to make Pepper a victim.

 

_‘The evil Tony Stark sends his secretary home in tears…again.’_

__

They had nerve, Tony would give them that. He’d risked his life countless times on their behalf, yet he managed to have little meaning to the world. Only in times of need did they look at him as a hero, a savior. When battles they couldn’t hope to win alone arose, they called upon Iron Man, not Tony Stark, with respect shining brightly in their eyes at every victory.

 

It didn’t matter though, because in the end, they were right. Tony Stark didn’t have a normal functioning heart in every sense of the word. Without the small block of science in the center of his chest, Tony Stark couldn’t survive.

 

They said without a heart, he couldn’t love.

 

But that’s where they were wrong.

 

At one point in his life, it’s something Tony would have agreed with. Each night as Tony prowled amongst the individuals, all willing to jump in bed with him at a simple command, he wished for more. And, every morning he was disappointed by the familiar feeling of disgust. Not with them; never with _them_. He was always so disgusted with himself and with the inability to grow attachments and harbor feelings of romantic devotion to any one person. Even with Pepper. And goddamn, Tony had really tried with Pepper. He had spent his waking hours forcing his mind and –what was left of- his heart into loving her.

 

He would never say he didn’t love her, because he’d be lying. Pepper was the only person who stuck by him through it all and how could he _not_ love her. It wasn’t enough though. His love for her wasn’t what she needed, and he couldn’t blame her when she’d left his home in tears, cameras chasing her insistently.

 

 _“I’m sorry, Tony, but I can’t let this go on. It’s not fair to either of us,”_ she’d said.

 

She was right. But for her, Tony would have endured it. He could have woken up next to her every morning with a small sense of security but little more than that. The break up had been for her best interest and _that_ was what mattered to Tony.

 

 

Love became an unobtainable dream…one he would never achieve no matter the level of his knowledge. After all, love wasn’t something that could be _learned._

 

 _Maybe_ , Tony would think to himself, he felt so strongly about his failure to love because he had never imagined _this._

__

Tony knew Loki to be many things; a God of mischief, Thor’s younger brother, Asgardian outcast and a force to be reckoned with. A lover, was not among the things Tony would normally associate with the God. The idea of it was so odd, so foreign to Tony. It made him laugh at the irony he called his life. How should he expect less, though? Without the utter ridiculousness he lived through on a daily basis, it couldn’t be his life.

 

“What thoughts have you smiling?”

 

Tony’s concentration broke away from his reminiscing, focusing on Loki’s questioning gaze. His smile grew soft, a tenderness he couldn’t see but he knew was lurking in his eyes, “You. Me. _Us.”_

__

“Oh?” Loki had a smile of his own now. He moved from place against the large window wall, pushing away from it gracefully, “What about… _us?”_ He asked playfully.

 

Tony smirked, flicking his hand out to the dark liquor and stealing it from the table top greedily. He grunted lightly as watched Loki’s elegant movements, biting back a large gulp of his drink and relishing in the burn that traveled down his throat.

 

“I like the way you say it better.” He winked at the approaching body, readjusting as Loki slid above him, knees coming to rest on either side of Tony’s thighs. His unoccupied hand soothed up the fabric of Loki’s pants and up his side before settling on the small dip of Loki’s back. His fingertips pressed against the bottom of Loki’s spine, moving them in small circles.

 

Loki hissed at the familiar touch, grabbing roughly at Tony’s hair as he bared his teeth in a sneer, “I loathe it when you take to doing that.”

 

Tony smirked as he leaned up towards the lips hovering just above his own, pulling against the grip on his hair. He was unable to hide the smirk of satisfaction.

 

“No. You hate the way it makes you feel.” He stated knowingly. “It makes you feel _weak_ and stripped of your control, but good.”

 

Loki scoffed, his mouth turned down even as his eyes became heavy and lidded.

 

“You tread dangerous waters, Tony Stark.” Loki bit out.

 

“Mm, I love it when you talk dirty.”

 

Loki reeled back, as if he’d been shocked, his face void of any emotion. Tony pursued, dropping his glass to the floor in an uncaring manor. He reached out to take Loki’s small wrists in his hands, moving his thumbs along the pale white skin.

 

“You are unbearably overconfident.” Loki murmured quietly, but remained still as Tony grew closer.

 

“Would you love me if I was anything else?” He replied.

 

A sudden gleam came to Loki’s eyes. Their green color morphed into a bright hue of depth that always sucked Tony in; holding him captive under their intensity. God those _eyes._

__

“ _Love_ is a very strong word to use so carelessly.”

 

Loki grinned wickedly. Tony was an open book to Loki. Every thought, every feeling, every _desire,_ were always Loki’s for the taking. He imagined Loki could spend hours just staring into his eyes, rifting through his mind. Because, yes, Loki was _that_ good at reading people. He had to be, after all. After years of lying and tricking his way through life, understanding people’s weaknesses and strengths was a required skill. One that Loki was infuriatingly good at.

 

And while Tony was an open book, he wasn’t as well. He knew what to hide and where to hide it, so it was just out of Loki’s reach.

 

Loki was extraordinary when it comes to catching the simplest of fabrications to the most intricate web of lies.

 

But, Tony decided with a hint of something akin to guilt, withholding information and lying are two different things.

 

 

-.--------------.-

 

 

No one seems surprised when they find out.

 

Tony doesn’t know whether to be greatful or annoyed.

 

Shouldn’t someone fear for his safety? He’s sleeping with a God, after all, one who, not too long ago, almost succeeded in taking over the human race.

 

Pepper walks into Tony’s room, coincidentally after the rare occasion of Loki spending the night. She takes one look at Tony’s frazzled appearance and Thor’s brother draped carelessly across his chest then walks out. Her heels click against the hard-wood floor. She isn’t running, just walking, casually.

 

Tony figures maybe its because Loki has been so _quiet_ and keeping out of trouble lately.

 

Steve and Bruce seem most unhappy about the ordeal. And oddly enough, Thor seems… _pleased._ Tony had prepared to be dismembered at best and crushed to tiny pieces by Thor’s damn hammer at worst. But Thor just smiles and says, “Had I known all it took to quell my brother’s reign of terror was an experienced partner, I would have come looking for you long ago, Man of Iron.”

 

Tony pretends the comment doesn’t disturb him.

 

Bruce’s cough sounds suspiciously like a laugh and Steve just stares at him like the unthinkable has happened. Probably because it _has._

 

“So you two…” Steve trails off, shifting nervously as everyone’s attention turns on him, “you know…”

 

Thor’s sit up straight, throwing his hands up like he’s about to start on one of his rants. Tony doesn’t want to hear it. He walks hastily back to his room, deciding that sleeping with an ex-mass murderer is saner than spending another minute with his teammates.

 

Once glance back, taking in Steve’s dark blush and Clint obvious amusement confirms his suspicions. Everyone around him is crazy. And maybe that’s good, because Tony was never really rational himself.

[k.k.1] 

-.--------------.-

 

Tony sleeps soundly through the night… _most_ of the time.

 

And, if he’s really honest with himself, uncommon as that may be, he only sleeps soundly when Loki is wrapped in his arms. Cold and hard flesh pressed intimately against his own, persistently warm body. And the contrast is beautiful, hauntingly so.

 

His calloused, large hands draw nameless patterns along Loki’s unblemished skin, watching and waiting for him to wake up, lash out at Tony for being sentimental and then burrow deeper in Tony’s welcoming warmth, despite his protests.

 

His sheets are drenched in sweat. Not the sweat he would normally bask in, the sweat present as he pushes Loki deeper into bliss with his body. It is the sweat of panic and fear. The sweat of nightmares he can’t get away from, no matter how much time has passed.

 

His eyes flutter and twitch, taking in his surroundings. He’s here, no _there,_ but pain always feel so damn real, its hard to shake free even after waking. But, the loneliness, and the desperation to escape is even stronger. It lingers for a while.

 

Until Loki returns. He takes in Tony’s heaving chest and the hand clawing desperately at his arc reactor.

 

In these times, when Tony is so vulnerable, Loki is most amiable, slipping back under the covers, cupping the bright blue light and easing Tony’s damage-inflicting hand away from causing further harm. It isn’t the sappy type of comfort like in romantic films and books, its just a whisper of a reassurance, _‘I’m here,’_ and _‘Stop sweating on my shirt.’ ‘I’m not leaving,’_ but _‘I’ll be gone when morning comes.’_

__

Its in these fragile moments, when Tony is so exposed and Loki, even more so, that guilt takes the leftovers of his heart in its bruising grip.

 

-.--------------.-

 

 

“You have been acting strange as of late.” Loki’s voice drifts over to him. Tony freezes above the toxicity level reader, turning it over and swiveling his chair to face Loki. “Why?”

 

The smile has done nothing to avert Loki’s suspicions so he drops it, opting for the best expression to say, _‘What the hell are you talking about?’_

__

“Uh…nothing?” He clicks his tongue, rolling his eyes in an attempt to look bored. Loki doesn’t buy it. Not even for a minute.

 

It was these situations Tony always tried to avoid. He could ignore the problem, pretend it didn’t exist and life would go on. All he had to do was keep calm and carry on his over-confident ways. His genius, as luck would have it, was not equipped with acting skills. Not for someone of Loki’s level anyway.

 

They space between them disappeared within seconds. Loki’s hands were clasped tight on the edge of his work desk, blocking him in. Tony did his best to contain the shudder of surprise at the abrupt chill seeping through his shirt and pressed tightly to his chest. It didn’t escape Loki’s notice though.

 

His green eyes flickered distractedly over Tony’s form, watching his reaction through glazed eyes. Tony took advantage of the change in mood. He switched their positions, nudging Loki up onto his desk by the back of his knees. Loki’s hands pushed at his chest in obvious resistance, trying to keep their conversation on track. His struggles died down quickly as Tony brushed his lips along Loki’s neck, dipping his tongue in a spot behind Loki’s ear.

 

Tony chuckled when he heard Loki swallow. He watched the way Loki’s eyes fluttered every time he pressed down into the willing body, his hands determined to touch every piece of flesh.

__

Sometimes Tony rubbed and kissed, with murmurs of affection while Loki growled and tugged, eyes opened wide for the entire world to see his pleasure.

 

But when Tony really wanted to avert Loki’s attention, he bit and slammed and pushed Loki into a state of moans and whimpers, unable to form any sensible words.

 

 

-.--------------.-

 

 

Tony wasn’t sure how long he thought the calm before the storm could last. Comparing Loki to a storm seemed quite appropriate. He could spit fire and ice and make mountains tremble under his rage. Fighting with Loki was like diving into a whirlpool of death traps.

 

 

“What is _this?”_

Loki’s voice burned with barely concealed anger, tearing through all of Tony’s defenses with the not so simple query.

 

 

“It’s a tool designed to read levels of toxicity in blood.” Tony in a voice one would use when explaining something very complex to a small child. “You just put it to your finger-”

 

 

Loki cut him off quickly, “I know what it is, Stark!” He shouted. Loki’s knuckles turned white over the small gadget and Tony fear the force of his hold would shatter it to pieces. “I want to know _why_ you have it.”

 

 

Tony didn’t reply and the silence fueled Loki’s onslaught.

 

 

“Who is it for?”

 

 

“Who do you think!” Tony shouted back in frustration. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. “Come on Loki, don’t act like you don’t know.”

 

 

Green eyes widened impossibly; hoping, no, _begging_ for his implications to be untrue.

 

Tony dropped his chin down, staring at the ground and ignoring the rush of emotions everyone assumed he didn’t have, because surely, Tony Stark couldn’t love, and the God of Mischief couldn’t care. Loki’s broken stance said otherwise, though.

 

 

“You _,_ ” Loki bit out, “…you _knew_ all this time?”

 

 

Tony just wanted this to end. He was tired, _so_ tired. Fighting off death and fighting the bad guys. He didn’t want to fight Loki to. But he deserved it. This day had to come, born from the ashes of Tony’s mistakes and Tony’s lies and Loki’s trust.

 

 

“You could have told me from the very beginning, but you _didn’t._ Tell me _why!_ ”

 

 

“I never knew we’d get this far.” Tony spoke softly now. There was no use trying to hide anymore, no use in playing the fool. “I didn’t see the point.” The truth felt like acid; running through his veins and killing every bit of human that was left of Tony.

 

 

Loki was in front of him. He didn’t flicker over or rush at him, but took slow, deliberate steps towards his goal, finger dancing along the hem of Tony’s shirt. He moved to lift it up but Tony stopped him, gripping roughly at Loki’s elbows. “Please.” Loki watched him for what felt like forever. It made Tony feel like a germ under a microscope; exposed and under worthy of those judging, sad green eyes.

 

 

Loki ignored his plea, but moved leisurely, urging Tony’s hands out of the way and lifting his shirt up high. Tony’s eyes shut and his body tensed.

 

 

Suddenly his shirt was gone, but Loki’s hands were everywhere. His back, his sides, his face, but they always lingered around the arc reactor, tracing the blue veins, raised and painful. His hands felt so good. And this was all Tony would ever need.

 

 

“Stupid, _insufferable_ human.” Loki’s tone didn’t reach its standard for insults. He could have been spouting love songs and poems if Tony hadn’t known any better. It didn’t matter, though. Not if Loki kept kissing his chest and sending shivers through his body, ones that weren’t caused by the ice-cold temperature of his touch.

 

 

“I think…” He tugged at Loki’s hair, trying to focus before Loki made him lose his mind. “I think I love you.” He stammered out. “I don’t know why. I don’t know how long, and maybe I don’t really, but…” he paused, scared to look down at Loki’s reaction, “with you, it’s the closest I’ve ever come.”

 

 

Silence dragged on. Tony’s confession hung in the air, like a repetition of an embarrassing moment.

 

 

 _Finally,_ Loki answered, “This will not end the way we wish it. The path you have opened to us; will be most painful.”

 

 

“All the more fun then, right?” And there was Tony- his quirky comebacks and a knack for digging himself into some deep fucking holes.

 

 

Loki smiled. It was happy really. Tony had seen him happy, he’d been the one to make Loki happy. Just as Loki had done for him. Maybe not in the most conventional way, but it got the job done, none the less.

 

 

It all made sense in Tony’s mind. He didn’t want to ponder what Loki would do when he was gone, or how long he had, or if death hurt as much as imaging Loki never smile again.

 

So Tony didn’t think and Tony didn’t wonder. He just _felt._ He felt Loki in him and around him. Everything hurt less with the mutual understanding of pain. And that made everything make sense.

 

* * *

 [k.k.1]Added.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading. I really hope you enjoyed. This is basically a prologue to a MC story.


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